Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

 

By engaging New Zealand Biosecurity Academy Limited, hereinafter referred to as NZBA, you accept the enclosed terms and conditions.

Insurance and Indemnity

 

Except where we have expressly accepted responsibility to you under these Terms, you indemnify us against all legal action taken against us, and shall pay all costs, losses or expenses we incur. NZBA is not liable for any property damage or loss of customer’s property when services are being provided by us.

Service Guarantee

 

Your rights for service provision and supply of service are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act.

Schedules

 

Assessment / Course schedules notified or published by NZBA are subject to change without notice.

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Enrolment Policy

 

This policy (and its procedures) ensures selection and enrolment of learners on programmes:

• for which they are eligible.

• which suit their needs and lead to a National Qualification/Award.

• in which they are likely to succeed.

• meet the contracted outcomes, according to contract funding criteria.

• which meet employer needs.

 

Specific outcomes of this policy are to ensure:

• learners meet the criteria set down for the training contract they are to be enrolled under;

• learners are able to develop their career path through the training opportunities we provide;

• enrolment details are securely and accurately recorded and reported;

• learners’ personal details, learning and work history, pathway plan, training progress and interactions with NZBA team members are recorded and available only to those who need them; and

• we can report to our stakeholders according to contract requirements.

 

Fees

 

All identified fees are in New Zealand dollars and subject to change without notice. Quoted fees exclude 15% GST (Goods and Services Tax). All fees must be paid prior to the provision of services by NZBA. Where fees are not paid in full, NZBA is under no obligation to provide service or where service has been provided, furnish certificates of training where all or part of fees payable are outstanding.

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Course fees must be paid prior to course commencement or alternative arrangements in place to pay. More details regarding course fees and the payment of course fees are found on our website or available in PDF print form via request.

 

Failure to pay all fees on time without explanation and agreement may result in your removal from the course.

Attendee Numbers

 

Where you are making a booking that includes more than one attendee; or booking an assessment/course on site, a minimum number of attendees may be required. If the number attending changes, additional fees will be charged for any increase in the number of attendees in accordance with the registration costs (advertised or agreed). A reduction of the numbers of attendee’s is subject to our cancellation policy or minimum number requirements.

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Withdrawals and Refunds (Non-NZQA services)

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A request for cancellation or postponement of services must be notified in writing (email or txt) to NZBA 24 hours prior to the intended time/date of services to be delivered. Where notice of cancellation is provided at least 24 hours prior to the schedule assessment/course start, the fee may be transferred to another assessment or course operated by NZBA. Where notice of less than 24 hours is provided, any postponements or cancellations (including non-appearance or non-completion) will result in full assessment/course fees being charged with no refund offered. In the latter event, fees may be transferred to another course, or attendee on a case by case basis, at the sole discretion of NZBA.

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Where cancellation and reschedules of services are received 48hrs prior to the intended time/date of services to be delivered, and a refund of fees is requested, a full refund will be made by NZBA excluding an administration fee of $50 (Incl. GST).

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Withdrawals and Refunds (NZQA related courses/assessments)

• Course commencement is the first day on which NZBA requires the learner to attend.

• Couse cancellation can occur when NZBA determines there is insufficient demand, unavailability of suitable team members or facilities or any other reason.

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Special Circumstances

In special circumstances comprising reasons of a compassionate nature, NZBA at its sole discretion may grant a refund of a greater amount than is stated in the procedure and/or may grant a refund outside the required time frame as stated in this policy. If a learner believes that special circumstances of a compassionate nature exist, they must apply in writing to NZBA and enclose supporting evidence of the special circumstances claimed and provide all other evidence requested by NZBA. NZBA will consider the request and may or may not grant a refund in an amount that NZBA deems appropriate.

 

Note:

The first day of the course is shown on the learner’s booking/enrolment confirmation email. For learners new to NZBA, it is the first day of training. If, for any reason, a learner is unable to start their course on the first day, they must notify NZBA, and request a deferred starting date, which will be confirmed in writing. In the absence of such a request, or in cases where the request is declined, NZBA will be entitled to assume the learner accepts the course start date originally proposed.

 

Learners are to complete the NZBA Course Withdrawal Form, and attach the fee receipt, and any other relevant documents/evidence and present it to the Academy Manager. Learners will be informed of the decision within 10 working days. If accepted, a refund will be processed.

 

Withdrawals and Refunds are actioned under the following circumstances (these may be reviewed from time to time by the NZBA Advisory Board):
 

1. Withdrawal of learner up to and within the first 8 days of course commencement:
   a. Full refund, less up to 25% of the payment.
    

2. Unforeseeable insolvency, regulatory closure or withdrawal of accreditation of NZBA:
   a. Full refund
    

3. Withdrawal and refunds from programme after 8 days of course commencement:
   a. No fees paid will be credited to later programmes or refunded to learners after this time.
    

4. Termination of enrolment by NZBA as per our Learner Conduct policy:
   a. No refund.
    

5. Learners who withdraw before course commencement:
   a. Full refund less 10% of the payment.

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Course Cancellation / Abandonment

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Will endeavor to deliver assessments and training courses as scheduled with cancellation a last resort. While we do our very best to provide a minimum of 48 hours’ notice, from time to time the notice may be as little as 24 hours. We will arrange for an alternative time and date for attendance and where you are not able to attend, a full refund of payments for the course is provided.

Attendance and Specific Course Requirements

Times are provided to ensure that services requested to be completed can be delivered in the time specified. The client cancellation policy above, will be applied by NZBA where:

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•             customers fail to arrive at the correct time or date of training

•             customers fail to complete and bring with them pre-requite course material (where this is required)

•             customers fail to provide approved identification as stipulated by MPI or NZBA on the day of training

Learner Conduct

NZBA may terminate the provision of services where candidates attending training:

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• do not attend for the duration required

• are disruptive during the provision of services

• are considered by NZBA team members to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• are in possession of alcohol, drugs, or offensive weapons

• displays any form of harassment which is offensive and unwelcome to the trainer or other attendees.

 

NZBA strives to help create a learning environment that brings out the best in our learners. To achieve this, we need each learner to follow these basic guidelines:

1. Learners will behave in a manner that will not bring NZBA into disrepute, during the hours of their training course.

2. Learners will put in a full effort into their course whether it seems immediately relevant to them or not.

3. It is the learner’s responsibility to catch up on any work missed due to any absence from training. NZBA is only responsible for supplying any notes missed.

4. NZBA is not responsible or liable for the loss of any learner’s belongings on campus.

5. All absences must be explained by a phone call or message at least 30 minutes prior to your course start time.

6. Smoking and/or vaping is not permitted at any time on our premises or adjacent buildings.

7. The following will be strictly enforced:

a. No violence or threats of violence

b. No drugs

c. No alcohol

d. No willful vandalism

e. No eating during training time

f. No mobiles/devices during training time

1. All use of computers and the internet must be related to your training programme. If you wish to download appropriate material you must gain permission from your trainer. Learner’s must not download material that is offensive, racist, pornographic or illegal.

2. If applicable, learner’s will be expected to complete a work experience component of the course they are enrolled in.

3. No reports or certificates will be issued or qualifications registered, until all outstanding fees have been paid in full.

4. Honesty is expected of all learners.

 

Dishonest Practices

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Cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest academic practices have serious consequences and learners who fail to comply with acceptable behaviour will be subject to severe penalties, which may include a fail grade in their learner record, probation or suspensions from the programme. Learners will be required to pay and re-enrol to sit the unit/paper again.

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Complaints

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NZBA believes that we have a responsibility to provide learners with a study environment which is physically safe, free from harassment of any kind, and conducive to the achievement of good learning outcomes. Our complaints policy is designed to provide a process that learners can follow if they wish to lodge a complaint, dispute or grievance. The policy allows for the complaint to be brought to the attention of the organisation. If this process fails to provide a remedy it provides a process for the complaint to be mediated by external organisations. 

 

Informal complaints

Examples of informal complaints might include the following:

• minor training room irritations (other learners break concentration by interruption etc).

• concerns arising from miscommunication or misunderstanding.

• minor disagreements over academic matters and/or resource issues.

• facilities or workplace issues.

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Informal complaints are usually made verbally to your NZBA trainer, who should interview the person in private, allowing a support person to come if requested. The trainer will evaluate the nature and seriousness of the complaint, resolve it at the time if possible or refer it on to the Academy Manager. If the complaint is about one or more other people they should initially be interviewed separately.

 

Resolution will be determined when the complainant expresses satisfaction with the outcome, or verbally accepts the trainer’s actions. If the actions are not accepted the learner has the option to an outside authority and it then becomes a formal complaint.

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Formal complaints

Anyone wishing to make a formal complaint should put it in writing and submit it to the Academy Manager. The complainant has the right to a support person throughout the process until it is resolved.

 

If a complaint is about another person, that person must be given an opportunity to respond to it.

 

A written record will be kept in the central filing system of the complaint, the meeting(s), the steps taken to achieve a resolution and an outcome statement.

 

The Academy Manager will produce the outcome statement which should be signed by the complainant, the Academy Manager and any other affected parties.

 

If the complaint is not resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction, they will be advised of their right to go to an appropriate external authority.

 

The Code Administrator

If learners are not satisfied with the outcome of the formal complaint, they can consider complaining to NZQA. To contact NZQA learners can ring (04) 463 3000.

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Tertiary Education Dispute Resolution (TEDR)

The TEDR provide a free independent service to resolve contractual and financial disputes between domestic tertiary learners and education providers. Anyone wishing to use their services need to apply on their website.

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Confidentiality

The disputes process, and any information collected during it, is confidential. If a party to the dispute chooses to invalidate the complaints process by discussing the complaint outside of this process, the protection of their confidentiality will be considered redundant.

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Assessment Policies and Procedures​

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Learners must follow all requests and rules regarding conduct for assessments, assignments and examinations. Failure to do so, plagiarism or cheating of any kind, may make the results invalid and could lead to disciplinary action including dismissal.

 

All learners are expected to co-operate with requests made by trainers.

 

Plagiarism means using the work of others in preparing an assignment and presenting it as your own, without explicitly acknowledging – or referencing – where it came from. Plagiarism also includes paraphrasing another person’s work without attribution, and failure to acknowledge the full extent of indebtedness to a source.

 

Submitting someone else’s un-attributed or less than fully attributed work or ideas is not evidence of your own grasp of the material, and cannot earn you marks.

 

Work can be plagiarised from many sources – including books, articles, the internet, and other learners’ assignments. Plagiarism can also sometimes occur unconsciously or inadvertently. Direct copying all or part of the work of others; allowing all or part of your own work to be copied; collaborating together in preparing all or part of an assignment; and other similar activities are all forms of plagiarism.

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Assessment Location Date and Time​

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Location, date and time of the assessment must be pre set by the assessor and communicated to the candidate(s) in a reasonable notification timeframe.

 

Assessment task time limits or due dates must be completed within obligatory timeframes, some assessment task time limits may be open to the program training/assessor judgement depending on the unit standard and the candidate’s special circumstances.

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Rescheduling Assessment/Assignment Due Date

​1 –3 weeks’ notice will be given to complete the project depending on the degree of difficulty and the amount of work involved. The Trainer responsible for the assignment will determine the time factor, taking into account the total course workload.

 

All assignments must be handed in on the due date unless there are exceptional circumstances. Definition of exceptional circumstances: e.g. Sickness notified to NZBA, supported by a medical certificate.

 

If an extension of time is required, under exceptional circumstances, this must be approved by the Trainer in charge of the assignment by the due date, or sooner if possible. Late assignments not discussed with the trainer will not be accepted (except as outlined above). Any disagreements regarding extensions of time will be handled initially by the Training Manager. The Academy Manager (whose decision shall be final and binding) will handle any further disagreement.

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Pre-assessment Activity
The candidate must prove and the assessor must make sure that the candidate has covered all workbook activities and is ready to do the assessment.

 

The candidate must read and understand assessment conditions for that particular assessment.

 

Assessment conditions vary from assessment to assessment.

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Learner Welfare and Support

Learners who are having any difficulties should feel free to discuss their concerns with the team member they feel most comfortable talking to, including their Trainer. It is NZBA’s hope to assist all learners as much as possible, so that the learner can enjoy and benefit from their studies with us.

 

NZBA team members are available on site to offer guidance and support to learners relating to both academic progress and other issues learners wish to discuss. Learners may also raise concerns with their Trainer. Referral to outside agencies for specialist support will be arranged where appropriate.

 

Trainers provide learning assistance on a one-to one, or one to small group, for learners requiring help in literacy or numeracy, relevant to their course.

 

Specific help related to the course is given when the need arises or is requested. All trainers make themselves available for extra assistance, within reason.

Termination of Service by NZBA

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NZBA reserves the right if we believe that you have breached these Terms and Conditions to without notice, stop providing some or all services to you. No refund of fees will be provided by NZBA.

Confidentiality / Intellectual Property / Copyright

The information provided in any proposal or quotation submitted by NZBA is commercially confidential and it is not to be disclosed to a 3rd party.

 

General

NZBA is a New Zealand owned company. This agreement shall be subject to the laws of New Zealand. If we do not exercise or enforce any right available to us under these Terms, this does not constitute a waiver by us of those rights.
Every effort is made to ensure that the information provided by NZBA is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Information provided by NZBA does not constitute, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any legal, financial or medical matter you should consult an appropriate professional. NZBA makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information we provide, or its fitness for any purpose whatsoever. In no event will NZBA be liable for any direct, indirect, special incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the information provided by us.

The 4 NZBA web pages beginning with “Information for...” form part of these Terms and Conditions.

 

Privacy

If you are an individual, you have rights under the Privacy Act 2020 to access information held by us, and to request the correction of such personal information. In respect of such personal information, You:

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• Authorise us to obtain personal information about You, via Your Registration Form and Your use of NZBA services on behalf of the Ministry for Primary Industries or for registration and statistical purposes for New Zealand Qualifications Authority unit standard courses against which NZBA has consent to assess.

• Authorise us to use your personal information for direct marketing and promotional activities, research and development purposes in respect of the provision of our services to you.

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Enrolment records

NZBA will keep accurate and up to date enrolment records for each learner in accordance with NZQA’s PTE Enrolment and Academic Records Rules, including:

• Full name and address of the learner;

• Contact details of the learner;

• The learner’s national student number(where the learner has a national student number);

• Nationality/ethnicity;

• The education or training in which the learner is enrolled (using the NZBA enrolment contract/online enrolment form);

• The start and finish dates of the training/course;

• Details of the learner meeting the entry requirements for the training/course including, where applicable, scores for English language entry requirements;

• Invoices and receipts for fees paid and the dates of payment, with course fees and other fees separately identified.

 

NZBA will keep the enrolment records for each learner for 2 years after the completion of the training/course in which the learner is enrolled.

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Academic records

NZBA will keep accurate and up to date academic records for learners in accordance with NZQA’s PTE Enrolment and Academic Records Rules, including:

• Records of individual learner assessment and examination results that include the name of the learner, the date of achievement and the relevant grade, which are kept as permanent records.

• Any cross credit, credit transfer, and recognition of prior learning arrangements for individual learners, and the evidential basis for them, which are kept as permanent records.

• Records of learner attendance, which are kept for 2 years after the completion of the training/course in which the learner is enrolled.

• Records of the achievement of awards or qualifications by the learners, which are kept as permanent records.

• All learner assessment materials generated from the training/course in which the learners are enrolled are kept for 2 years after the completion of the training/course in which the learner is enrolled.

 

Security of Online Payments

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Your payment is processed through eWAY Payment Gateway. eWAY secures credit-card data via encryption. NZBA will not store or transfer any of your credit card information. All data is transferred using eWAYs secure servers.

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Health and Safety

 

NZBA is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all, and to protecting team members, learners, visitors and contractors from accidental injury as per the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (and subsequent amendments).

 

Learner participation is part of that objective and you are expected to cooperate in making this a healthy and safe environment. Please be sure to report any unsafe learning environments, equipment, accidents and incidents to your trainer who will then follow the procedure to investigate and resolve.

 

It is the responsibility of all team members and learners to reduce the risk of accident and injuries by eliminating, isolating, or minimizing hazards that may cause personal injury, occupational illness or property damage.